In the ongoing debate between brand building and demand marketing, misconceptions cloud meetings and strategic decision-making alike. During a recent webinar titled, “Are You Being Myth-Led?” by the incredible Nick Cooper, Global Executive Director of Brand Performance at Landor, some of the more pertinent myths were tackled with clarity and experience.
On the webinar, Cooper shared insights from Landor’s latest research, challenging the widely held beliefs such as the idea that brand-building only pays off in the long run, or that brand metrics are unimportant when setting budgets. Through real-world examples and Landor case studies like Nutella, Cooper demonstrated how brand investment can actually serve as a powerful enabler and multiplier to demand generation, providing immediate and sustainable business benefits.
In this article, I’ll summarize and expand upon points in the webinar, highlighting the critical importance of balancing brand building with demand generation to make a case for integrating brand strategy into business decision-making. Hold on to your pants.
Demand Generation vs. Brand Building
Demand generation, sometimes called demand activation, is simply the process of adding marketing dollars to current campaigns and initiatives. It’s essentially pouring gas on the flames that are already burning. And of course, like a canister of gasoline, the result will no doubt boom, but may not last very long.
Brand building on the other hand is investing in things like brand awareness, loyalty, and customer retention. Instead of chasing new eyes or customers, brand building emphasizes the key differentiators of a brand and doubles down on them. To maintain the fire analogy, if there is wood already burning, brand building adds more wood to the fire, and shifts other unburnt pieces to places they’ll be more effective. Onto the myths.
Myth #1: Branding Only Pays Off in the Long Term
One of the most pervasive myths in marketing is the belief that branding is a long-term investment that offers little to no immediate return. Nick Cooper dismantled this notion by emphasizing that brand-building can have almost immediate benefits, especially when integrated with demand generation strategies. He explained that focusing exclusively on demand generation leads to diminishing returns over time, forcing brands to work harder to achieve the same results.
Building up brand in the long term allows brand in the short term activation to be effective.
However, when brand-building is incorporated into the mix, it amplifies the effectiveness of short-term demand generation efforts. Think of it as adding new wood to the fire first, and then fanning the flames to help light the new timber. The brand equity accumulated over time acts as a multiplier, making short-term activation campaigns more impactful and allowing businesses to achieve both immediate and sustained growth.
Myth #2: Brand Doesn’t Impact Short-term Business Results
I get it, many marketers are pressured to prioritize short-term gains, often sidelining brand investment in favor of immediate demand generation. It’s important to point out, however, that a strong brand can significantly enhance short-term business outcomes.
Cooper used Nutella as a prime example, noting that the brand's infrequent use of discounts led to an unprecedented demand surge when it finally did, even causing riots in French supermarkets. (Anyone else remember the glory days of Black Friday shopping in America?). This incident underscores how a robust brand can drive short-term success by leveraging the equity it has built over time. Rather than seeing brand and demand as separate entities, marketers should recognize that a well-established brand can act as a force multiplier, enhancing the effectiveness of short-term business efforts.
Brand acts as a force-multiplier for short-term effects.
Myth #3: Brand Cannot Be Meaningfully Measured
The idea that brand performance is too abstract to measure has long been a barrier to investing in brand-building. Cooper challenged this by introducing the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV), a proprietary tool developed by WPP that has been effectively measuring brand equity for over 30 years. While demand generation metrics are well-established and often credited for short-term successes, they don’t tell the whole story. In reality, these short-term gains are often the result of long-term brand investment.
By employing tools like BAV, marketers can gain a deeper understanding of their brand's health and strategically guide its growth, ensuring that brand-building efforts are as measurable and actionable as demand generation activities. Plus, you can add it to your competitive analysis and brand strategy in order to set your organization up for success.
Brand can be measured very effectively, but you need to invest in getting the right data.
PS. We have an article on the BAV tool, so check that out when assessing your brand value.
Myth #4: Brand Metrics are Unimportant when it Comes to Setting Budgets
Another common misconception is that brand metrics are irrelevant when allocating marketing budgets. The reality is excluding brand metrics from budget discussions leads to an incomplete understanding of how marketing investments drive business outcomes. That’s a mouthful, so we can break it down.
Cooper advocated for giving brand metrics equal weight alongside traditional measures like sales funnels and conversion rates in marketing efforts. By doing so, businesses can make more informed decisions about where to allocate resources, ensuring that both brand-building and demand generation are adequately funded. Integrating brand metrics into budget planning not only strengthens the case for investment but also fosters more sustainable and effective growth strategies.
Marketing investments cannot be fully measured in the absence of brand metrics.
Myth #5: Brand is Not a Practical Guide to Business Decision-Making
The final myth Cooper addressed is the belief that brand-building is disconnected from practical business decision-making. He argued that this could not be further from the truth, explaining that brand is the embodiment of a company’s business strategy in the market.
By investing in brand-building, businesses can effectively communicate their strategy to consumers, driving growth and building long-term equity. Cooper cited research that showed companies with a higher proportion of their budget allocated to brand-building experienced faster growth over a five-year period. He emphasized that the key to success is finding the right balance between brand-building and demand activation, ensuring that both are aligned with the overarching business strategy.
Brand is the embodiment of taking the business strategy to market.
5 Tips for Balancing Brand Building and Demand Generation
- Integrate Brand and Demand Strategies: Don’t treat brand building and demand generation as separate entities. Instead, combine them to enhance the effectiveness of both. Building brand equity provides a strong foundation that amplifies short-term marketing efforts, creating a synergy that drives immediate and long-term growth. Start with a long-term brand vision and work backwards to create a brand and demand plan to get there.
- Measure Brand Effectively: Invest in tools and methodologies that allow you to measure your brand’s performance meaningfully. Tools like the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) offer insights that are as actionable as demand generation metrics, helping you make data-driven decisions for both short-term campaigns and long-term brand building. You can create your own tracking documents to measure what matters.
- Give Brand Metrics Equal Weight: When setting budgets, consider brand metrics alongside traditional performance indicators like sales funnels and conversion rates. Allocating resources to both brand-building and demand generation ensures a balanced approach that fosters sustainable business growth.
- Leverage Brand as a Growth Multiplier: Recognize that a strong brand doesn’t just support long-term objectives—it also enhances short-term results. By continuously investing in brand equity, you can create a multiplier effect that makes your demand generation efforts more efficient and impactful.
- Align Brand with Business Strategy: Use your brand as a guide for business decision-making. At the end of the day, the most valuable thing your business has is its brand. Ensure that your brand-building efforts reflect your company’s overall strategy, helping to communicate your values and objectives to the market effectively. This alignment will drive both brand loyalty and business growth over time.
In the ongoing debate between brand building and demand generation, it’s clear that the most successful businesses are those that understand the value of both. By integrating brand strategy into your marketing efforts, you not only drive immediate results but also set the stage for sustained growth. If you're ready to take your brand to the next level, let's talk. Book a free call today to assess your brand and discover how a balanced approach to brand building and demand generation can transform your business. Your brand's future starts now—don't miss the opportunity to make it thrive.
